The Facts in the Case of M.

Valdemar
by Edgar Allan Poe
(published 1845)
Of course I shall not pretend to consider it any matter for wonder, that the extraordinary case of M.
Valdemar has excited discussion. It would have been a miracle had it not -- especially under the
circumstances. Through the desire of all parties concerned, to keep the affair from the public, at least
for the present, or until we had farther opportunities for investigation -- through our endeavors to effect
this -- a garbled or exaggerated account made its way into society, and became the source of many
unpleasant misrepresentations; and, very naturally, of a great deal of disbelief.
It is now rendered necessary that I give the facts -- as far as I comprehend them myself. They are,
succinctly, these:
My attention, for the last three years, had been repeatedly drawn to the subject of Mesmerism; and,
about nine months ago, it occurred to me, quite suddenly, that in the series of experiments made
hitherto, there had been a very remarkable and most unaccountable omission: no person had as yet been
mesmerized in articulo mortis. It remained to be seen, first, whether, in such condition, there existed in
the patient any susceptibility to the magnetic influence; secondly, whether, if any existed, it was
impaired or increased by the condition; thirdly, to what extent, or for how long a period, the
encroachments of Death might be arrested by the process. There were other points to be ascertained,
but these most excited my curiosity -- the last in especial, from the immensely important character of
its consequences.
In looking around me for some subject by whose means I might test these particulars, I was brought
to think of my friend, M. Ernest Valdemar, the well-known compiler of the "Bibliotheca Forensica,"
and author (under the nom de plume of Issachar Marx) of the Polish versions of "Wallenstein" and
"Gargantua." M. Valdemar, who has resided principally at Harlem, N. Y., since the year 1839, is (or
was) particularly noticeable for the extreme spareness of his person -- his lower limbs much resembling
those of John Randolph; and, also, for the whiteness of his whiskers, in violent contrast to the blackness
of his hair -- the latter, in consequence, being very generally mistaken for a wig. His temperament was
markedly nervous, and rendered him a good subject for mesmeric experiment. On two or three
occasions I had put him to sleep with little difficulty, but was disappointed in other results which his
peculiar constitution had naturally led me to anticipate. His will was at no period positively, or
thoroughly, under my control, and in regard to clairvoyance, I could accomplish with him nothing to be
relied upon. I always attributed my failure at these points to the disordered state of his health. For some
months previous to my becoming acquainted with him, his physicians had declared him in a confirmed
phthisis. It was his custom, indeed, to speak calmly of his approaching dissolution, as of a matter
neither to be avoided nor regretted.
When the ideas to which I have alluded first occurred to me, it was of course very natural that I
should think of M. Valdemar. I knew the steady philosophy of the man too well to apprehend any
scruples from him; and he had no relatives in America who would be likely to interfere. I spoke to him
frankly upon the subject; and, to my surprise, his interest seemed vividly excited. I say to my surprise;

for, although he had always yielded his person freely to my experiments, he had never before given me
any tokens of sympathy with what I did. His disease was of that character which would admit of exact
calculation in respect to the epoch of its termination in death; and it was finally arranged between us
that he would send for me about twenty-four hours before the period announced by his physicians as
that of his decease.
It is now rather more than seven months since I received, from M. Valdemar himself, the subjoined
note:
"MY DEAR P___,
You may as well come now. D___ and F___ are agreed that I cannot hold out beyond to-morrow
midnight; and I think they have hit the time very nearly.
VALDEMAR."
I received this note within half an hour after it was written, and in fifteen minutes more I was in the
dying man's chamber. I had not seen him for ten days, and was appalled by the fearful alteration which
the brief interval had wrought in him. His face wore a leaden hue; the eyes were utterly lustreless; and
the emaciation was so extreme, that the skin had been broken through by the cheek-bones. His
expectoration was excessive. The pulse was barely perceptible. He retained, nevertheless, in a very
remarkable manner, both his mental power and a certain degree of physical strength. He spoke with
distinctness -- took some palliative medicines without aid -- and, when I entered the room, was
occupied in penciling memoranda in a pocket-book. He was propped up in the bed by pillows. Doctors
D___ and F___ were in attendance.
After pressing Valdemar's hand, I took these gentlemen aside, and obtained from them a minute
account of the patient's condition. The left lung had been for eighteen months in a semi-osseous or
cartilaginous state, and was, of course, entirely useless for all purposes of vitality. The right, in its
upper portion, was also partially, if not thoroughly, ossified, while the lower region was merely a mass
of purulent tubercles, running one into another. Several extensive perforations existed; and, at one
point, permanent adhesion to the ribs had taken place. These appearances in the right lobe were of
comparatively recent date. The ossification had proceeded with very unusual rapidity; no sign of it had
discovered a month before, and the adhesion had only been observed during the three previous days.
Independently of the phthisis, the patient was suspected of aneurism of the aorta; but on this point the
osseous symptoms rendered an exact diagnosis impossible. It was the opinion of both physicians that
M. Valdemar would die about midnight on the morrow (Sunday.) It was then seven o'clock on Saturday
evening.
On quitting the invalid's bed-side to hold conversation with myself, Doctors D___ and F___ had
bidden him a final farewell. It had not been their intention to return; but, at my request, they agreed to
look in upon the patient about ten the next night.
When they had gone, I spoke freely with M. Valdemar on the subject of his approaching dissolution, as
well as, more particularly, of the experiment proposed. He still professed himself quite willing and even
anxious to have it made, and urged me to commence it at once. A male and a female nurse were in
attendance; but I did not feel myself altogether at liberty to engage in a task of this character with no
more reliable witnesses than these people, in case of sudden accident, might prove. I therefore
postponed operations until about eight the next night, when the arrival of a medical student, with whom
I had some acquaintance, (Mr. Theodore L___l,) relieved me from farther embarrassment. It had been

my design, originally, to wait for the physicians; but I was induced to proceed, first, by the urgent
entreaties of M. Valdemar, and secondly, by my conviction that I had not a moment to lose, as he was
evidently sinking fast.
Mr. L___l was so kind as to accede to my desire that he would take notes of all that occurred; and it
is from his memoranda that what I now have to relate is, for the most part, either condensed or copied
verbatim.
It wanted about five minutes of eight when, taking the patient's hand, I begged him to state, as
distinctly as he could, to Mr. L___l, whether he (M. Valdemar,) was entirely willing that I should make
the experiment of mesmerizing him in his then condition.
He replied feebly, yet quite audibly, "Yes, I wish to be mesmerized" -- adding immediately
afterwards, "I fear you have deferred it too long."
While he spoke thus, I commenced the passes which I had already found most effectual in subduing
him. He was evidently influenced with the first lateral stroke of my hand across his forehead; but
although I exerted all my powers, no farther perceptible effect was induced until some minutes after ten
o'clock, when Doctors D___ and F___ called, according to appointment. I explained to them, in a few
words, what I designed, and as they opposed no objection, saying that the patient was already in the
death agony, I proceeded without hesitation -- exchanging, however, the lateral passes for downward
ones, and directing my gaze entirely into the right eye of the sufferer.
By this time his pulse was imperceptible and his breathing was stertorous, and at intervals of half a
minute.
This condition was nearly unaltered for a quarter of an hour. At the expiration of this period,
however, a natural although a very deep sigh escaped the bosom of the dying man, and the stertorous
breathing ceased -- that is to say, its stertorousness was no longer apparent; the intervals were
undiminished. The patient's extremities were of an icy coldness.
At five minutes before eleven, I perceived unequivocal signs of the mesmeric influence. The glassy
roll of the eye was changed for that expression of uneasy inward examination which is never seen
except in cases of sleep-waking, and which it is quite impossible to mistake. With a few rapid lateral
passes I made the lids quiver, as in incipient sleep, and with a few more I closed them altogether. I was
not satisfied, however, with this, but continued the manipulations vigorously, and with the fullest
exertion of the will, until I had completely stiffened the limbs of the slumberer, after placing them in a
seemingly easy position. The legs were at full length; the arms were nearly so, and reposed on the bed
at a moderate distance from the loins. The head was very slightly elevated.
When I had accomplished this, it was fully midnight, and I requested the gentlemen present to
examine M. Valdemar's condition. After a few experiments, they admitted him to be in an unusually
perfect state of mesmeric trance. The curiosity of both the physicians was greatly excited. Dr. D___
resolved at once to remain with the patient all night, while Dr. F___ took leave with a promise to return
at daybreak. Mr. L___l and the nurses remained.
We left M. Valdemar entirely undisturbed until about three o'clock in the morning, when I
approached him and found him in precisely the same condition as when Dr. F___ went away -- that is
to say, he lay in the same position; the pulse was imperceptible; the breathing was gentle (scarcelqy

noticeable, unless through the application of a mirror to the lips;) the eyes were closed naturally; and
the limbs were as rigid and as cold as marble. Still, the general appearance was certainly not that of
death.
As I approached M. Valdemar I made a kind of half effort to influence his right arm into pursuit of
my own, as I passed the latter gently to and fro above his person. In such experiments with this patient,
I had never perfectly succeeded before, and assuredly I had little thought of succeeding now; but to my
astonishment, his arm very readily, although feebly, followed every direction I assigned it with mine. I
determined to hazard a few words of conversation.
"M. Valdemar," I said, "are you asleep?" He made no answer, but I perceived a tremor about the lips,
and was thus induced to repeat the question, again and again. At its third repetition, his whole frame
was agitated by a very slight shivering; the eye-lids unclosed themselves so far as to display a white
line of a ball; the lips moved sluggishly, and from between them, in a barely audible whisper, issued the
words:
"Yes; asleep now. Do not wake me! -- let me die so!"
I here felt the limbs and found them as rigid as ever. The right arm, as before, obeyed the direction of
my hand. I questioned the sleep-waker again:
"Do you still feel pain in the breast, M. Valdemar?"
The answer now was immediate, but even less audible than before:
"No pain -- I am dying."
I did not think it advisable to disturb him farther just then, and nothing more was said or done until
the arrival of Dr. F___, who came a little before sunrise, and expressed unbounded astonishment at
finding the patient still alive. After feeling the pulse and applying a mirror to the lips, he requested me
to speak to the sleep-waker again. I did so, saying:
"M. Valdemar, do you still sleep?"
As before, some minutes elapsed ere a reply was made; and during the interval the dying man
seemed to be collecting his energies to speak. At my fourth repetition of the question, he said very
faintly, almost inaudibly:
"Yes; still asleep -- dying."
It was now the opinion, or rather the wish, of the physicians, that M. Valdemar should be suffered to
remain undisturbed in his present apparently tranquil condition, until death should supervene -- and
this, it was generally agreed, must now take place within a few minutes. I concluded, however, to speak
to him once more, and merely repeated my previous question.
While I spoke, there came a marked change over the countenance of the sleep-waker. The eyes rolled
themselves slowly open, the pupils disappearing upwardly; the skin generally assumed a cadaverous
hue, resembling not so much parchment as white paper; and the circular hectic spots which, hitherto,
had been strongly defined in the centre of each cheek, went out at once. I use this expression, because

the suddenness of their departure put me in mind of nothing so much as the extinguishment of a candle
by a puff of the breath. The upper lip, at the same time, writhed itself away from the teeth, which it had
previously covered completely; while the lower jaw fell with an audible jerk, leaving the mouth widely
extended, and disclosing in full view the swollen and blackened tongue. I presume that no member of
the party then present had been unaccustomed to death-bed horrors; but so hideous beyond conception
was the appearance of M. Valdemar at this moment, that there was a general shrinking back from the
region of the bed.
I now feel that I have reached a point of this narrative at which every reader will be startled into
positive disbelief. It is my business, however, simply to proceed.
There was no longer the faintest sign of vitality in M. Valdemar; and concluding him to be dead, we
were consigning him to the charge of the nurses, when a strong vibratory motion was observable in the
tongue. This continued for perhaps a minute. At the expiration of this period, there issued from the
distended and motionless jaws a voice -- such as it would be madness in me to attempt describing.
There are, indeed, two or three epithets which might be considered as applicable to it in part; I might
say, for example, that the sound was harsh, and broken and hollow; but the hideous whole is
indescribable, for the simple reason that no similar sounds have ever jarred upon the ear of humanity.
There were two particulars, nevertheless, which I thought then, and still think, might fairly be stated as
characteristic of the intonation -- as well adapted to convey some idea of its unearthly peculiarity. In the
first place, the voice seemed to reach our ears -- at least mine -- from a vast distance, or from some
deep cavern within the earth. In the second place, it impressed me (I fear, indeed, that it will be
impossible to make myself comprehended) as gelatinous or glutinous matters impress the sense of
touch.
I have spoken both of "sound" and of "voice." I mean to say that the sound was one of distinct -- of
even wonderfully, thrillingly distinct -- syllabification. M. Valdemar spoke -- obviously in reply to the
question I had propounded to him a few minutes before. I had asked him, it will be remembered, if he
still slept. He now said:
"Yes; -- no; -- I have been sleeping -- and now -- now -- I am dead.
No person present even affected to deny, or attempted to repress, the unutterable, shuddering horror
which these few words, thus uttered, were so well calculated to convey. Mr. L___l (the student)
swooned. The nurses immediately left the chamber, and could not be induced to return. My own
impressions I would not pretend to render intelligible to the reader. For nearly an hour, we busied
ourselves, silently -- without the utterance of a word -- in endeavors to revive Mr. L___l. When he
came to himself, we addressed ourselves again to an investigation of M. Valdemar's condition.
It remained in all respects as I have last described it, with the exception that the mirror no longer
afforded evidence of respiration. An attempt to draw blood from the arm failed. I should mention, too,
that this limb was no farther subject to my will. I endeavored in vain to make it follow the direction of
my hand. The only real indication, indeed, of the mesmeric influence, was now found in the vibratory
movement of the tongue, whenever I addressed M. Valdemar a question. He seemed to be making an
effort to reply, but had no longer sufficient volition. To queries put to him by any other person than
myself he seemed utterly insensible -- although I endeavored to place each member of the company in
mesmeric rapport with him. I believe that I have now related all that is necessary to an understanding of
the sleep-waker's state at this epoch. Other nurses were procured; and at ten o'clock I left the house in
company with the two physicians and Mr. L___l.

In the afternoon we all called again to see the patient. His condition remained precisely the same. We
had now some discussion as to the propriety and feasibility of awakening him; but we had little
difficulty in agreeing that no good purpose would be served by so doing. It was evident that, so far,
death (or what is usually termed death) had been arrested by the mesmeric process. It seemed clear to
us all that to awaken M. Valdemar would be merely to insure his instant, or at least his speedy
dissolution.
From this period until the close of last week -- an interval of nearly seven months -- we continued to
make daily calls at M. Valdemar's house, accompanied, now and then, by medical and other friends. All
this time the sleeper-waker remained exactly as I have last described him. The nurses' attentions were
continual.
It was on Friday last that we finally resolved to make the experiment of awakening, or attempting to
awaken him; and it is the (perhaps) unfortunate result of this latter experiment which has given rise to
so much discussion in private circles -- to so much of what I cannot help thinking unwarranted popular
feeling.
For the purpose of relieving M. Valdemar from the mesmeric trance, I made use of the customary
passes. These, for a time, were unsuccessful. The first indication of revival was afforded by a partial
descent of the iris. It was observed, as especially remarkable, that this lowering of the pupil was
accompanied by the profuse out-flowing of a yellowish ichor (from beneath the lids) of a pungent and
highly offensive odor.
It was now suggested that I should attempt to influence the patient's arm, as heretofore. I made the
attempt and failed. Dr. F___ then intimated a desire to have me put a question. I did so, as follows:
"M. Valdemar, can you explain to us what are your feelings or wishes now?"
There was an instant return of the hectic circles on the cheeks; the tongue quivered, or rather rolled
violently in the mouth (although the jaws and lips remained rigid as before;) and at length the same
hideous voice which I have already described, broke forth:
"For God's sake! -- quick! -- quick! -- put me to sleep -- or, quick! -- waken me! -- quick! -- I say to
you that I am dead!"
I was thoroughly unnerved, and for an instant remained undecided what to do. At first I made an
endeavor to re-compose the patient; but, failing in this through total abeyance of the will, I retraced my
steps and as earnestly struggled to awaken him. In this attempt I soon saw that I should be successful -or at least I soon fancied that my success would be complete -- and I am sure that all in the room were
prepared to see the patient awaken.
For what really occurred, however, it is quite impossible that any human being could have been
prepared.
As I rapidly made the mesmeric passes, amid ejaculations of "dead! dead!" absolutely bursting from
the tongue and not from the lips of the sufferer, his whole frame at once -- within the space of a single
minute, or even less, shrunk -- crumbled -- absolutely rotted away beneath my hands. Upon the bed,
before that whole company, there lay a nearly liquid mass of loathsome -- of detestable putridity.